Ryan Lochte swims in the men's 200-yardard individual medley at the 2012
AT&T Winter National Championships on Nov. 29, 2012

Two major events will take place on U.S. soil this weekend when top American swimmers descend on Austin, Texas, for the AT&T Winter National Championships and top men’s alpine skiers head to Beaver Creek, Colo., for the only domestic World Cup event this season. Several other U.S. Olympians and Olympic hopefuls are in action in the United States and around the world this weekend, too. Check out the Team USA Weekend Preview for all of the details.

SWIMMING

AT&T Winter National Championships, Nov. 29-Dec. 1, Austin, Texas

Ryan Lochte made a big splash Thursday night at the AT&T Winter National Championships with a near-record swim.

On the first night of the competition, which is packed with Olympic swimmers, Lochte, an 11-time Olympic medalist, won the 200-yard individual medley in 1 minute, 40.97 seconds. He was less than one second off the American record he set in 2007.

The three-day, short-course championships being held at the Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin also include Olympic swimmers Missy Franklin, Katie Ledecky, Haley Anderson, Jessica Hardy and Matt Grevers. Ledecky, the Olympic champion in the 800 free, and Anderson finished one-two Thursday in the women’s 500 freestyle, and Hardy won the 50 freestyle. Grevers won the men’s 50 free, edging Olympic teammate Davis Tarwater.

Franklin, a five-time medalist in the London 2012 Olympic Games, finished third in the women’s 200 IM behind Celina Li and Stina Gardell. Frankin’s upcoming races include the 100 backstroke and 200 freestyle Friday, and the 200 backstroke Saturday. She talked to TeamUSA.org prior to the meet.

Two-time Olympian Ted Ligety, who has already won World Cup gold this season, headlines a strong field in the only U.S. stop on the tour: the Birds of Prey Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Beaver Creek, Colo. The event begins Friday with the downhill competition.

Ligety is scheduled to ski in the downhill, Saturday’s super-G and Sunday’s giant slalom.

Beyond the prestigious lineup of skiers competing, the talk around the event is of the superb Beaver Creek conditions.

“The snow conditions are the best in my memory,” Ganong said. “This is my fourth year here and this is the quickest the snow’s been. The speed coming off the bottom here off of Harrier Jump and Red Tail Jump, we’re going really fast. You can feel the speed down here. It’s such a pleasure to race on a surface as perfect as this.”

“I would definitely say, as far as preparation, it is year in, year out, the standard for snow and just overall course preparation,” Weibrecht said. “It really doesn’t get any better and I’ve got a lot of respect for the volunteers and the staff that do the work to make this happen because it is far above and beyond any other venue that we ski on.”

Lindsey Vonn, who has been slowed with a stomach illness, is back in Lake Louise for two downhill and one super-G race this weekend. Vonn posted the fastest time in the first training run but did not ski Thursday.

Her teammate Stacey Cook said Vonn did not feel well in the morning.

"I had breakfast with her this morning and she seemed cheery and her normal self, so somewhere between breakfast and here I guess she wasn't feeling well," Cook said. "She'll be ready for tomorrow, I know it. She'll make all of us look bad again."

Vonn swept all three races last year. She's won 11 career World Cups at Lake Louise, which has been dubbed “Lake Lindsey".

Marion Rolland of France was fastest in training for the second straight day at the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup on Thursday.

Daniela Merighetti of Italy was second and Anna Fenninger of Austria was third.

Cross Country World Cup, men and women, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, Kuusamo, Finland

Nordic Combined World Cup, Dec. 1-2, Kuusamo, Finland

LUGE

World Cup, Dec. 1-2, Koenigssee, Germany

Two-time Olympian Erin Hamlin and 2010 Olympian Julia Clukey, along with men’s luger Chris Mazdzer, will chase after podium finishes beginning Saturday in the second World Cup event of the season in Koenigssee, Germany. Clukey placed sixth last week in Igls, Austria.

Germany swept gold in women’s singles and doubles, men’s singles and the team relay in Igls. This week’s event brings the Germans home, where many of the World Cups will be held this year. This week’s World Cup was scheduled for Cesana, Italy, the course used for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, but financial difficulties at the Cesana course caused the event to be moved to Koenigssee. Next week, the World Cup moves to Altenberg, Germany. Later in the season, Koenigssee will host another event.

“As far as having two races here in Koenigssee, I don’t think many people are psyched on the idea of having five of our nine World Cups on German soil, except for the Germans, of course,” said 2006 Olympian Preston Griffall.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m glad to be racing here twice,” Hamlin said. “I love sliding here, so it’s fun and it’s a great area. But having five World Cups in Germany in a season is just annoying.”

SOCCER

U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Republic of Ireland, Dec. 1, Glendale, Ariz.

Alex Morgan, who scored three goals Wednesday against the Republic of Ireland, will lead the U.S. Women’s National Team against Ireland again on Saturday night at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The game is the seventh of 10 for the Olympic gold medalists in the Fan Tribute Tour, presented by Panasonic.

Morgan’s second career hat trick Wednesday in Portland, Ore., pushed her 2012 goals total to 27. Only teammate Abby Wambach (31 goals in 2004) and Michelle Akers (39 goals in 1991) have scored more in one calendar year. Morgan’s three goals came within 10 minutes of each other as the United States pulled away for a 5-0 win.

“I think a 5-0 win is good and obviously we want to keep that going,” Morgan said after Wednesday‘s game. “We still have a few more games to go on the victory tour. Tonight I was feeling it, feeling comfortable with the ball and was taking shots because of the slick surface.”

Katie Compton, who has won two gold medals in three UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup races this year, will go after a third on Sunday in Roubaix, France. Compton is the leader in the elite women’s World Cup standings by 40 points and has medaled at every event. The one race Compton didn‘t win, the season opener in the Czech Republic, she captured silver.

Other U.S. racers on the tour include Amy Dombroski, who finished 11th in the elite women’s race last week in Koksijde, Belgium, and Jonathan Page, who was 32nd in the elite men’s race. Logan Owen is among the top U.S. juniors; he finished fifth last week in the junior men’s race.

Olympic bronze medalist Danell Leyva and Olympic alternate Elizabeth Price will compete this weekend at the DTB Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. Leyva earned the bronze medal in the all-around at the London 2012 Olympic Games and won gold at the AT&T American Cup.

Leyva will compete Sunday at Porsche-Arena, along with seven other men’s competitors. Price is one of eight gymnasts in Saturday’s women’s all-around competition. The event is a part of the International Gymnastics Federation’s all-around World Cup series.

Kalon Ludvigson, a three-time gold medalist in tumbling at World Cup competitions, is among four U.S. gymnasts who’ll compete this weekend in the Pan American Trampoline and Tumbling Championships in Mexico. Preliminary competition will be held Friday and Saturday, followed by the finals Sunday.

Ludvigson, who has won two Pan Am Championships gold medals, will compete in tumbling. Other U.S. gymnasts are: Kristie Lowell, women’s double mini-trampoline; Marina Moskalenko, tumbling and double-mini; and Austin Nacey, tumbling and double-mini.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

NORCECA Beach Circuit, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, Oranjestad, Aruba

Will Montgomery will seek his third consecutive gold medal on the NORCECA Beach Circuit when he teams up with Avery Drost at the final tournament of the season in Aruba. Montgomery won gold with Jon Mesko in St. Lucia and with Tony Ciarelli in Trinidad & Tobago. He also won silver with Tri Bourne at the NORCECA event in Chula Vista, Calif.

Two-time NORCECA medalist Summer Ross will team up with Tealle Hunkus as the No. 1 U.S. team in the women’s tournament. Stevi Robinson will play with Kirby Burnham. The second men’s team is Matt Motter and Derek Olson.

SPEEDSKATING

ISU Short Track World Cup, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, Nagoya, Japan

J.R. Celski, a 2010 Olympian who has already broken a world record this season, leads the US Speedskating short track team to its third World Cup event in Nagoya, Japan. The races begin Friday.

Celski took silver and bronze medals at the last World Cup event in Montreal, and won gold with a world-record performance in the 500-meter race in Calgary. His silver medal in Montreal came in the 1,500. Other U.S. skaters include Travis Jayner, John-Henry Krueger, Chris Creveling, who earned bronze with Celski in a relay race at the Montreal World Cup.

BIATHLON

IBU World Cup, Nov. 28-Dec. 2, Oestersund, Sweden

The men’s 10-kilometer sprint race and women’s 7.5k sprint race will be held Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Oestersund, Sweden. Those events will be followed Sunday by the men’s 12.5k pursuit and women’s 10k pursuit.

Annelies Cook was the highest-finishing American in the women’s 15k individual race Thursday, placing 46th. She had a time of 50:53.5. The World Cup opener also featured a 17th-place finish by the U.S. mixed relay team Sunday. Tim Burke finished 33rd in the men’s 20k individual event Wednesday.

Also in biathlon:

IBU Cup, Nov. 29-Dec. 1, Beltostolen, Norway

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING

FINA Synchronized Swimming World Trophy, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, Mexico City

The Walnut Creek (Calif.) Aquanuts and five members of the U.S. Junior World Team will compete in the FINA Synchronized Swimming World Trophy, beginning Friday in Mexico City. Jamie Kuchan, a 2012 Junior World Team member, and Alexa Tchekmarev, a two-time Grand Slam national champion, will compete in the duet. Other World Team members are Morgan Boneburg, Karina Boyle and Sandra Ortellado.

BOWLING

Qubica AMF World Cup, Nov. 24-Dec. 2, Wroclaw, Poland

Marshall Kent rolled an average of 230.2 — a total of 3,453 pins — and was atop the men’s leader board Thursday at the Qubica AMF World Cup in Wroclaw, Poland. Also near the top in the women’s tournament was Danielle McEwan, who rolled 1170 over five games Thursday, advancing to the second round. She was one of 24 bowlers to advance to Friday’s competition, an eight-game playoff that will trim the field down to eight. The finals in both the men’s and women’s tournament will be Saturday.

BOXING

Youth World Championships, Nov. 29-Dec. 7, Yerevan, Armenia

Bantamweight fighter Gary Salazar scored a third-round stoppage victory Thursday over Shavkatbek Negmatov of Tajikistan, opening the Youth World Championships with a bang for the six-member U.S. team. Salazar will face Ali Ghouson on Saturday in the second round.

Maliek Montgomery, lightweight division; Edmundo Vasquez, flyweight; and Anthony Sims Jr., light heavyweight, will all compete in their opening-round bouts Friday. Norberto Torres and Julian Rodriguez lost their opening bouts Thursday. Preliminary-round bouts will be held through Sunday, followed by the quarterfinals Monday and Tuesday, the semifinals Dec. 6 and the championship round Dec. 7.

The USA Eagles were to play France on Friday, the first day of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens. The tournament is the second round of the HSBC Sevens World Series. Teams from 16 nations are competing. The Eagles are hoping for better than the 14th-place finish they had last month at the Gold Coast Sevens.

“For us, it’s about being a team that other teams don’t want to play; a team that can play in any style. We will play a fast game and a hard game,” U.S. coach Alex Magleby said.

Nearly a month ago, Geoffrey Loss won a memorable gold medal. His win at the Kiev Junior World Cup in saber marked the first time in three years that a U.S. fencer had won gold at a Junior Saber World Cup. The Junior World Cup heads to Dormagen, Germany, for men’s and women’s competition Saturday. Skyla Powers opened her World Cup season by winning bronze two weeks ago in Sosnowiec, Poland.

Also in fencing:

Junior World Cup, men’s epee, Dec. 1, Espoo, Finland

Regional Open Circuit, Charm City, Dec. 1-2, Baltimore

Regional Youth Circuit, Spirit of Youth, Dec. 1-2, Houston

BOBSLED/SKELETON

Intercontinental Cup, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Whistler, Canada

Matt Antoine, who finished 15th in men’s skeleton at last week’s World Cup event in Whistler, B.C., will return to Whistler this weekend for an Intercontinental Cup event. He is using the event to help further rehabilitate his recovery from surgery to repair a partial tear in his patella tendon. Next week, he’ll be back to the World Cup.

“Matt will build strength back and will be back second half even better,” coach Tuffy Latour said. “We expect big results from him at world championships if he can build back to 100 percent from his surgery.”

WATER POLO

FINA Youth World Championships, Dec. 1-9, Perth, Australia

A men’s squad and a women’s squad will represent the United States at the FINA Youth World Championships, which begin Saturday in Perth, Australia. The men’s team, coached by Jason Lynch, will begin play Sunday, when it plays Hungary. The women’s team, coached by Kyle Kopp, opens play Sunday against India.

The U.S. National Sled Hockey Team will begin play Sunday in the World Sledge Hockey Challenge, when it faces Norway at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary, Canada. Among the leading players on Team USA are goaltender Steve Cash, defenseman Taylor Chace and forward Alexi Salamone. Team USA has won its last three major international tournaments, including the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games and 2012 IPC World Sledge Hockey Championships.

Team USA will also play Japan on Monday and Canada on Wednesday. The semifinals of the four-team tournament is Thursday, followed by the medal round Dec. 8.

WEIGHTLIFTING

American Open and Youth World Championship Team Trials, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, Palm Springs, Calif.

Competition begins Friday in the American Open Weightlifting Championships and Youth World Championship Team Trials in Palm Springs, Calif. Among the featured divisions will be the men’s 85- and 94-kilogram weight classes to be held Saturday night at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Youth World Championship Team Trials are scheduled for Friday.

JUDO

IJF Grand Slam, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, Tokyo

Competition begins Friday in the International Judo Federation (IJF) Grand Slam in Tokyo.

ROLLER SPORTS

International Roller Cup, Dec. 2, Modena, Italy

Competition in men’s and women’s singles, dance and artistic couple among the best roller skaters in the world will be featured at the International Roller Cup in Modena, Italy. Six skating teams of four athletes each will participate, including the United States.

TV: 10 a.m.-noon ET Sunday, ESPN3

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Paul D. Bowker is a freelance contributor for TeamUSA.org. Material from various news services and press releases from National Governing Bodies was used to compile this report. This story was not subject to the approval of any National Governing Bodies.